Gardenia Plant Care

Gardenia plant care and pruning guide. The heady perfume of the Gardenia flower is compelling enough to have every gardener south of the Mason-Dixon line planting a jasminoides bush in their yard.

Gardeners who do not reside in the deep south can plant 'Summer Snow' or 'Kleims Hardy' Gardenias.
Apartment and condo dwellers anyplace in the world can possess these elegant, jasmine-scented blooms by growing a Gardenia bonsai or houseplant.

Planting Gardenias

If you know your soil is infested, your best bet is to install plants which have been grafted onto nematode resistant Gardenia thunbergia rootstock. Otherwise, plant them in containers.

Your plant's will give their best performance in full sun or part shade. Morning sun is preferable to late afternoon sun in areas where summers are sizzling hot.

Plant Gardenias at the same level they are growing at in the nursery container.

Gardenia Care

A Gardenia tree in full flush is a beautiful sight.

Your Gardenia bush will live a long and productive life if you give attention to the following things:

Bug Killing Tip: Products designed to kill fire ants contain a higher concentration of Acephate and work more reliably.

Its soil. Keep it clean (nematode free) and moist. This is not a drought tolerant plant. It does not like alkaline soil or salt.

Apply a Gardenia fertilizer (an acid food that contains manganese, magnesium, iron) 3 times per season in spring, summer and early fall.

Keep the bugs off it by applying a systemic insecticide containing Acephate at the first sign of infestation.

My Gardenia Has Yellow Leaves

Yellow leaf in Gardenia shrubs can be caused by a lack of nitrogen. Fertilize it with a high nitrogen plant food every other time you feed it.

Watering with hard water may also be the culprit, but do not substitute
salt-softened water as the salt will build up in the soil and harm the plant.

Instead, apply an iron chelate to counteract the alkalinity of the
water. Mix 1 ounce of iron sulphate into 2 gallons of water and apply
this solution every other week until new growth returns to its normal
color.

Pruning Gardenias

Gardenias make a fragrant hedge.

Pruning Gardenia bushes is the easiest part of caring for them. No power tools are required for this.

In most plants, the trimming they will get each time you cut flowers for use in the vase will be enough.

Use a small hand pruner to prune back any stems that are marring the shape of the bush. Do this after the flowers fall.

Young plants may be cut back to encourage bushy growth.

Growing Gardenias in Pots

Crepe jasmine is similar in appearance and much easier to grow than a Gardenia, but it lacks fragrance.

Growing Gardenias in containers expands the kinds you can grow exponentially.

Poor soil and harsh winters are no longer a consideration. Gardenia plants of all types grow beautifully in pots.

Twenty years ago, we lived in an apartment with a balcony. This is where I first started gardening. One of the first plants I invested in was a Gardenia jasminoides.

I planted it in a 12 inch pot full of good quality potting soil and kept it fed and watered. I was surprised at how quickly it filled the pot and how heavily it bloomed.

Its luscious fragrance was all the incentive I needed to stop and smell the Gardenias. I took regular balcony breaks when that plant was in bloom.

Gardenia Varieties

The genus was named after Dr. Alexander Garden, a Charleston, SC physician who lived during colonial times.

There are approximately 50 types of Gardenias, all hailing from subtropical China.

Gardenia jasminoides
The largest species in the genus, at least 20 of the named Gardenia cultivars are members. The jasminoides are sometimes called cape jasmine, not because of any kinship to Jasminum but because of the permeating jasmine aroma of their blooms.

They are large shrubs (to 8 feet) with shiny dark green leaves with
veins so prominent they almost look quilted. Most bloom in spring and
again in early summer.

Gardenia jasminoides 'Veitchii' will reward you with 3 bloom
cycles. However, you will pay for this extra flush of fragrance by
sacrificing bloom size.

The 2 inch wide double flowers are significantly smaller than those of other G. jasminoides cultivars. It also features a more compact growth habit and smaller leaves.

If you want the extra flush but can't bear to be without the big blooms,
plant 'Veitchii Supreme'. This hybrid displays the large flowers (full
6 inch doubles) of 'Miami Supreme' on a 'Veitchii'-sized bush.

'Kleim's Hardy' features large, single flowers (It is sometimes called the daisy Gardenia) with gold centers flirt with small evergreen leaves on a 3 foot tall shrub that is hardy into zone 7.

Gardenia jasminoides 'Frost Proof' is a shapely shrub with a very
bushy growth habit. At 3-4 feet tall, it is much shorter than the
species. It also adapts better to imperfect soil and growing
conditions.